23 Jun On what policy issues might nurses lobby Congress? What strategies might nurse use to have their voices heard? The discussion must address the topic. Rationale must be p
On what policy issues might nurses lobby Congress? What strategies might nurse use to have their voices heard?
The discussion must address the topic.
Rationale must be provided
350 words in your initial post by Sunday.
Minimum of two scholarly references in APA format within the last five years published
You must post two answers to your peers of 150 words
Reply to classmate’s discussion ( answers to your peer of 150 words)
Classmate 1 post:
On what policy issues might nurses lobby Congress?
There are different policy issues which are in the nursing profession for which the nurses can influence the decision being made by the states and the government on it through their lobby groups as individuals or even private entities and thus helping on developing better policy measures and also being involved in the decision making processes. Some of the policy issues in the nursing profession include the policy of duration of working hours which ash been made, personal health or protection to the nurses and measure put in policies, the hiring of the nurse's policies which has led to shortages in the professional nurses thus reduced services delivery. There is also policies on the working environment for various hazards and risk such as handling of infection viruses and bacteria and also hazards such as medical drug contamination and many more. Other polices issues include the work experience policy which is applied in the hiring of employees, professionalism issues, cost of healthcare policies, insurance coverage policies for the nurses, policies on the meeting the expectations that are of the patients and those of the families, and many more (Mason et al., 2015).
What strategies might nurses use to have their voices heard?
The voices of the nurses on the issues/challenges they are facing in the various working station would be heard by the employing the following strategies that are noted to be having much greater impact and that they can make their voices be heard. The first strategy would be by speaking about the public health-related issues and pointing them out and thus helping on creating awareness among the general public, the state, local, and the federal government on the issues they are facing in the profession that are affecting services delivery. The second strategy would be by having the use of the direct approach method whereby the nurses would have the signing of petitions or even the form letters they share their various opinions to the government on the healthcare environment (Griffith & Tengnah, 2020). Also, the direct strategy method there can use phone calls or email messages on expressing their various issues and thus have direct communication with the responsible authorities. The third method which can be used is the lobby groups method which helps in expressing the various internets of the nurses and also expresses the various challenges which nurses face in the profession which need to be solved so that quality healthcare services can be provided. This is the most common method which is used by many employees because the method is noted to be addressing major factors and also providing solutions in a much better way while the services are being provided to the patients in the country (Perry et al., 2017).
References
Griffith, R., & Tengnah, C. A. (2020). Law and professional issues in nursing. Learning Matters.
Mason, D. J., Gardner, D. B., Leavitt, J. K., Chaffee, M. W., & O'Grady, E. T. (2015). Policy & politics in nursing and health care. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Perry, A. G., Potter, P. A., & Ostendorf, W. (2017). Clinical nursing skills and techniques – E-book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Classmate 2 post:
Health institutions constantly require policies that are consequential in the delivery of required quality care. Inadequate staffing and work safety are pertinent policy issues that nurses can lobby against in Congress. Strategies such as public campaigns and the use of social media help ensure that nurses and other health experts are heard.
Inadequate staffing and safety at work are policy issues that nurses can lobby Congress for. Health institutions experience shortness of staff, which is considered to be a common problem for nurses and other medical experts (Shah et al., 2021). More specifically, practicing RN offer professional services, but without sufficient time and staff, they can offer substandard services and care (Ulrich & Kear, 2018). Therefore, lobbying this problem in Congress ensures that current health experts have mitigation measures in place to deal with common problems or any difficulties in providing quality services. ANA advocates for a safe work environment for nurses as a necessary measure to improve workplace safety (Mills & Duddle, 2021). The policy will address safe patient handling, reducing the high incidence of back injuries and handling of medical equipment like needles, and ensuring the safety of nursing staff, housekeepers, physicians, and laboratory staff. Congress can provide training to relevant staff by passing legislation that supports such initiatives. Through the implementation of the above, healthcare professionals receive the required guidelines and resources to provide the necessary professional assistance.
Strategies that the nurses can use to make their voices heard include campaigning in the community about public health and lobbying people online, such as through social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). As for the former, nurse practitioners can engage local, state, and federal legislators to conduct debates that inspire discussion among the relevant stakeholders to implement policies that promote the delivery of quality care (Trudel et al., 2019). The latter is considered one of the largest platforms in the 21st century that helps medical experts submit petitions in support of their lobbied policies in Congress (Pagoto et al., 2019). Implementing such strategies is beneficial for the nurses and other healthcare experts to have their voices heard.
The increased workload and complexity of nursing technologies are policy issues that nurses might lobby Congress for. Health care workers with the right skills deal with many patients, and the increased workload may lead to the delivery of poor-quality services. Although the nurse practitioners work diligently to provide the best services, they feel burdened, for instance, when one nurse is expected to serve about 100 patients per day (Pérez et al., 2020). Notably, health experts can lobby Congress to ensure all medical institutions have sufficient staff and meet expected standards. One of the reasons nurses choose their career is the challenge it presents. Additionally, changing the lives of patients inspires medical professionals to continue improving their services. The incorporation of technology is one-way nurses can improve the quality of care. Essentially, nurses can lobby Congress for the latest technology to meet the growing needs of patients. Therefore, nurses lobbying Congress on the above issues will improve the quality of care.
Strategies that nurses can use to have their voices heard lobbying against an increase in workload include patient complaints about long waits for service and nursing shortage data. If nurses can prove that patients wain a long time before being served, Congress can make the necessary changes and increase the hiring of more qualified nurses. Another strategy that nurses can use to have their voices heard is through electronic health records. Nurses lobbying Congress may try stating to claim the benefits of this technology as it will help improve the quality of care provided. The inclusion of such strategies benefits nurses.
In conclusion, nurses and other medical experts have numerous policy issues they can lobby Congress for support, such as inadequate staffing and safety at work. And strategies such as creating public campaigns about public health and utilizing the Internet, especially social media, can help health experts to be heard.
References
Mills, S. L., & Duddle, M. (2021). Missed nursing care in Australia: Exploring the contributing factors. Collegian, 29(1), pp.125-135. https://doi.org/10.1111/JONM.13069
Pagoto, S., Waring, M. E., & Xu, R. (2019). A call for a public health agenda for social media research. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(12), e16661. https://doi.org/10.2196/16661
Pérez-Francisco, D. H., Duarte-Clíments, G., del Rosario-Melián, J. M., Gómez-Salgado, J., Romero-Martín, M., & Sánchez-Gómez, M. B. (2020, January). Influence of workload on primary care nurses’ health and burnout, patients’ safety, and quality of care: Integrative review. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 8(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8010012
Shah, M. K., Gandrakota, N., Cimiotti, J. P., Ghose, N., Moore, M., & Ali, M. K. (2021). Prevalence of and factors associated with nurse burnout in the US. JAMA Network Open, 4(2), e2036469-e2036469. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.36469
Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Millstein, R. A., von Hippel, C., Howe, C. J., Tomasso, L. P., Wagner, G. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2019). Psychological well-being as part of the public health debate? Insight into dimensions, interventions, and policy. BMC Public Health, 1712(2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-8029-x
Ulrich, B. T., & Kear, T. M. (2018). The health and safety of nephrology nurses and the environments in which they work: Important for nurses, patients, and organizations. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 45(2), 117-139.
